The real problem with P2W games is the companies eventually get too greedy and focus on the few suckers who spend thousands of dollars, and ride that for all it is worth, to the extent that the game becomes so unfriendly to new players that the player base drys up.

No, I just see way too much fussing in game communities about the Other Guy, instead of just playing the game. It’s a quirk that comes with MMOs being as social as they are, but envy and greed are troublesome beasties.

You’re upset that I’m not delirious about the prospect of players being able to buy their way to virtual superiority in games? Of course some players always have an advantage, but some advantages are more corrosive and damaging than others (to the players).

I don’t think it’s inevitable that talking about inequalities will destroy communities, or that not talking about them won’t. LoL is widely cited as a well balanced game, for example, and its community is execrable.

It’s unusual for me to reach maximum level even in an MMO I play for years. I have no interest in raiding or most end-game play. I enjoy PvP but don’t much care whether I am good at it or not. And most importantly, by far my favorite gameplay is low-level pottering around.

If people with high disposable income and/or poor self control choose to keep MMO companies churning out product by buying vastly overpriced goods and services to gain competitive advantage against their peers then bully for them. They’ll be playing in parts of the game I would never have bothered with, doing things I wouldn’t have wanted to do with people i wouldn’t want to meet. Meanwhile I’ll be wandering about beneath their attention horizon, enjoying myself for nothing.

…of course, devs can and probably should strive to make PvP as balanced as possible, but yes, I am very, very tired of people whining about what other players have and how they got it. It’s corrosive, and destroys a community and possibly even a genre.

In Wizard 101, the money isn’t made in pets, mounts or even houses. Its the mundane items like helpful potions and fighting companions. The game is subtly changed to up the need on these items and simultaneously raising their prices.

Frankly it’s getting old for me, and I will be less likely to start playing any F2P games from now on.

But a game that had pay to win more deeply embedded might not need to be around for several years, if the gameplay attracted players who liked that model.